Best book on Composition

[Marcuscarcus]

I went on amazon and found this book called the photographers eye
Amazon.com: The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos (9780240809342): Michael Freeman: Books

anyone know if this is a good book. i want to learn how to analyze photos for composition. I don't want a book full of pretty pictures without instruction

Any suggestions?

[Bluenoser]

I have this book and highly recommend it. Well written with plenty of discussion on composition, techniques, etc.

[Michael_2010]

That one is not on my bookshelf yet, but it looks like a good one to put on my list.

YouTube - The Photographer's Eye - Michael Freeman

[Michael_2010]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

I have this book and highly recommend it. Well written with plenty of discussion on composition, techniques, etc.

Does he give camera settings for some of the photos? A lot of these kind of books talk in generalities and use the photographs as filler. I like to see the pictures, but I also like to see what settings were specifically used for each, plus any artificial lighting that was introduced to the setting.

I also noticed he has a field guide version of this book for a few dollars less. Would that suit my needs better?

Amazon.com: The Photographer's Eye Field Guide: The essential…

[billyy2288]

Originally Posted by Marcuscarcus

I went on amazon and found this book called the photographers eye
Amazon.com: The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos (9780240809342): Michael Freeman: Books

anyone know if this is a good book. i want to learn how to analyze photos for composition. I don't want a book full of pretty pictures without instruction

Any suggestions?

Such a very amazing link!
Thanks you for the post.

[LeeR]

Michael Freeman's books are always filled with lots of how-to and technical information along with loads of stunning images. They will certainly inspire you to go out and try some of the techniques he shows you. Unfortunately, great compositions are not a matter of tools and techniques but are rather an intuitive process that is difficult to write about.
One person who writes eloquently about the subject of composition is Betty Edwards, though she is not a photographer. I highly recommend you read and do the exercises in her book "Drawing on the Artist Within." I promise you that doing so will give you a much better understanding of composition and bring new authority to your images.

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

Does he give camera settings for some of the photos? A lot of these kind of books talk in generalities and use the photographs as filler. I like to see the pictures, but I also like to see what settings were specifically used for each, plus any artificial lighting that was introduced to the setting.

The Photographer's Eye is a great book on "composition". I have it on my bookshelf. He doesn't go over his exposure settings or anything like that. He goes over composition and what draws the eye to the picture. I recommend it to anyone that wants to learn more about composition. I've even recommended it to a mom at the book store that was looking for something for her son who was just getting into photography. On a side note, I didn't work at the book store and I was just there looking for new books.

[Shokinen]

Very good book. They leave the triangle away (ISO,Shutter,Aperture) and concentrate on the "art side" of photography. It explains very well how to carfully work with your subject, lines, background and how the eye react to these nuances.

[danbaileyphoto]

When I first started out, I found Bryan Peterson's books to be very helpful and informative. His book "Learning to See Creatively" is definitely worth a look, as is "Understanding Exposure." I highly recommend both.